Solderless side seam for tin cans.



nd. 700,575. Patented 'may 20,1902.

w. THoMPsoN.

suLnELEss smEsEAM For: Tm CANs.

(Applicacion med Feb. s, 1902:)

(No Model.)

ATTORNEYS y UNITED STATES PATENT v OFFICE.

WALTER THOMPSON, OF TORONTO, CANADA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESN E ASSIGN- MENTS, TO THE PACKERS SANITARY CAN COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF; NEW JERSEY.

SOLDERLESS SIDE SEAM FOR TIN CANS.

. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 700,575, dated May 20, 1902.

Application filed February 3, 1902.` Serial No. 92,338. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, WALTER THOMPSON, a

subject of the King of Great Britain, residing in Toronto, Province of Ontario, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Solderless Side Seams for Tin Cans; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in lo the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of Vreference marked thereon, which form a -part ofthis specification. t 5 This invention relates to the construction of tin cans having solderless side seams.

Heretofore it has been proposed in making solderless side seams for tin cans to bend back the meeting edge portions of the body of the 2o can toward each other and interlock them and then indent the joint thus formed transversely throughout its entire length, so as to produce, in effect, a series of transverse ribs. This expedient is calculated both to sti'fen 5 the seam transversely thereof, and thus prevent its unrolling,- and to veryl closely dispose the layers of metal of the seam, so as to obvate leakage. In practice, however, While it accomplishes the first purpose satisfactorily this construction does not so satisfactorily insure a hermetic seal throughout the length of the seam. Y

The object of this invention, therefore, is to produce an improved solderless side seam 3 5 for tin cans which is not only proof against rupture under internal pressure in the can, but perfectly and permanently tight throughout its entire length.

The invention will be found fully illustrated in the accompanying drawings, where- 1n- Figure l is a front view 0f a tin can having my improved solderless side seam. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the seam enlarged. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a modied form of the seam shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 shows another form of the seam in perspective. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a modification of the scam illustrated in Fig. 4, and Fig. 6 illustrates in elevation still another form of the 5o seam.

a in saiddrawings is the can, and b and c themeeting edge portions of its bodyp'artf which are bent toward each other back on themselves and then interlocked. The seam thus formed is then provided throughout its length with a series of preferably closely-disposed, elongated, and transversely-extending indentations d, forming between them, in effeet, a series of transverse ribs c, acting to 6o stiften the seam transversely, and so prevent the interlocked edge portions b and cf from-Rm unrolling and so unlocking, though internal pressure in the can may bevery considera- Y ble. -The seam has then stamped in it, longitudinally thereof, a continuous indentation f. The effect is to not only more closely dispose the layers of the seam, but by bending them out of their original plane to produce an unbroken obstruction to leakage 7o throughout the length of the seam. The seam is thus rendered absolutely hermetic. The cross-section of the indentation f may be either straight at the bottom, as at gin Figs.

2 and 8, or V-shaped, as at 72, in Figs. 4 and 5. 75 Likewise it may be duplicated, as in Figs. and 5, in which case the transverse indentations may extend either simply between the longitudinal indentations, as at 11 in Fig. 5, or onboth sides of said longitudinal indenta- 8o tions, as well as between them, as at j in Fig.

3. Moreover, if desired and as illustrated in several figures of the drawings, the transverse indentations may be formed in the longitudinal indentation, as at 7o. In this case they 85 may either coincide with the indentations d at the sides ofthe longitudinal indentation or, as at Zin Fig. 6, with the ribs e between said indentations d.

It will be understood that I do not wish to 9o be limited to l any particular sequence vof operations in producing my improved seam nor to any exact construction herein shown and described; but

What I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. A solderless side seam formed with a series of transversely-extending depressions extending substantially from end to end of the seam, and also formed with a longitudinal portion thereof extending. also substantially from end to end of the seam depressed out of 5 the plane of the parallel immediately-eontiguous portion of said seam, substantially as described.

frJA solderless side seam having a longi- Vtudinal depression extending substantially from end to end thereof, the bottom of said depression being transversely indented, substantially as described.

3. A solderless side seam having a longitudinal depression extending substantially from end to end of said seam and also having 15 t a series of transverse depressions crossing said longitudinal depression, substantially as described.

In testimony that l claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 23d day of 2o January, 1902.

WALTER THOMPSON.

lVitnesses:

ALFRED GARTNER, AROBERT J. POLLITT. 

